RIO DE JANEIRO — Thousands of Brazilian students marched in downtown Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday to protest against the possibility of Flávio Bolsonaro winning the presidency, after the far-right candidate received more votes than incumbent and left-leaning Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election.
A sea of red-clad demonstrators made their way between two historical squares in Rio’s center, chanting and holding signs referencing Brazil’s sovereignty and democracy in the South American country, which they said were under threat.
“We’re fighting for Brazil, not for Lula,” said Talita Amaral, a 19-year-old environmental science student at a nearby university. She was wearing Brazil’s yellow and green soccer jersey, often worn by supporters of Bolsonaro, which she said was a gesture aimed at reclaiming the national colors.
“We don’t have time to be sad, we need to be doing this, occupying the streets, sending messages in WhatsApp groups, trying to convince people,” Amaral said, as the chant “Olé olé olé ola, Lula Lula” rang out across Cinelandia square.
Neither Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro who is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup, nor Lula received more than the required 50% of the vote needed to become Brazil’s leader on Sunday. Therefore, they will face each other in an unpredictable runoff on Oct. 25.
But Flávio Bolsonaro has at least two advantages: He received 2 million more votes than Lula on Sunday and the candidates who placed third, fourth and fifth are all on the right of the political spectrum. They gathered more than 8 million votes between them.
Bolsonaro is under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion because of his ties to the failed Banco Master — a case that many protesters in Rio made reference to on Wednesday.
Some pointed to Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, during which 700,000 people were reported to have died from the disease, while others held signs emblazoned with messages such as “Brazil isn’t anyone’s backyard” and “I don’t vote for someone who sells Brazil.”
Many on the left fear a Flávio Bolsonaro presidency would fully align the Brazilian government with the United States because of the proximity in ideologies between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Bolsonaro family. Last year, Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods and imposed sanctions on a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, citing Jair Bolsonaro’s trial, which he called a “witch hunt.”
“If Bolsonaro wins, Brazil will become a colony of the United States,” said João Victor Vieira, 20, who studies literature. He said that Bolsonaro represented a threat to minorities such as people of color, women and the LGBTQ+ community. Bolsonaro’s father was notorious for homophobic remarks.
Vieira said that while he was initially dispirited following the results on Sunday, he has since regained hope.
“This protest shows that social movements are still very much alive,” he said. “We will resist.”
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This story corrects a previous version that stated the candidates who placed third, fourth and fifth gathered 6 million votes. The correct number of votes is more than 8 million.
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